The viewer is confronted with figures isolated on the canvas, without any further context. Their postures and facial expressions make the viewer feel like a voyeur. As if their presence is not meant for our eyes. We can only guess at their story or project our own story in them. The photographic nature of the work especially creates a large discrepancy between recognition and alienation.

With his work, Igor Verpoorten is firmly rooted in his own time; many contemporary painters have chosen the human face as their subject. It appears that in our digitised world more and more artists look for the human aspect behind all these faces forced upon us in the social media. The possibility of real, actual contact and intense human involvement seems a tragic illusion visualised by Verpoorten.

For quite some time now, Igor Verpoorten has been a frequently present artist at domestic and foreign art fairs and exhibitions. He is particularly renowned for his realistic technique and has won various awards and nominations: among other things, he won the Laurent Meeus award for painting in 1997, and the Jan Cocks award and the award of the city of Mol in 1998.